When I was in Israel two years ago, I came across a rather bizarre sign. As anyone who has walked through Jerusalem knows, the city is a haven for tourist traps. These stores are usually little enclaves, selling things preferred by the American tourist, such as low-grade clothing and bumper stickers with the name of your favorite sports team written in Hebrew. What specifically caught my eye was a white bumper sticker reading, in blue letters, “Don’t Worry America — Israel Is Behind You!” Though our group was 100 percent Jewish and unquestionably pro-Israel, we all found this statement a little ridiculous. “Shouldn’t it be the other way around?” we asked each other in jest. Logically, it would be, given that the tiny Jewish state is eyeball-deep in U.S. aid and defense resources. Yet as absurd as it sounds, this 50 cent bumper sticker manages to say so much about current Israeli foreign policy — that despite constantly being on the receiving end of aid, they are not afraid to position themselves as the dominating force in the relationship.
On March 11, an official from the Netanyahu administration approved new settlements to be built in East Jerusalem during Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel. This substantially peeved off Biden — whose goal during the visit was to encourage peacemaking communication between Israeli and Palestinian leaders — as well as the rest of President Barack Obama’s administration, who have been requesting a settlement freeze since the start of the presidency.
It came as no surprise that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-leaning government has strongly disagreed with Obama. It was not surprising that Israel would continue expansion into East Jerusalem; a few weeks earlier, Netanyahu quietly announced annexation of Rachel’s Tomb, located in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. What was surprising was Israel going directly against America’s orders while the Vice President was in the country.
All this recalls a similar disagreement between another large, powerful country and one that it supplies with large amounts of aid: the 2006 divide between China and North Korea. In July of that year, North Korea tested nuclear missiles after China had agreed to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718, imposing sanctions on Pyongyang. On North Korea’s part, this was seen as a slap in the face to the country that provides roughly 90 percent of their energy imports and 80 percent of their consumer goods. So then why did they go directly against China’s orders?
Like Israel, North Korea was eager to show their independence to the world. They hoped to cast off their reputation as a hatchling in the nest of China’s mother bird. Like the U.S. in 2010, an insulted China took on a tone of punishment, blocking shipments of military aid and demanding a nuclear halt on the part of the DPRK.
Yet just as Israel has provided the United States with a necessary democratic ally in the Middle East, North Korea has given China a strategic buffer against invading forces. The key in their relationship was not long-term punishment, but for China to reassert their dominance.
For the past decade, U.S. leaders have not questioned when it came to Israel’s policy, allowing the country to do exactly what it chooses. Obama realized that in order to make a stronger push for peace, the United States needs to show some tough love. Prime Minister Netanyahu is correct when he asserts that Jerusalem is not a settlement, and that Israel has every right to defend herself. But first they need to realize who is truly behind whom.
Isaac Stone is a sophomore in the School of International Service and the College of Arts and Sciences and a liberal columnist for The Eagle. You can reach him at edpage@theeagleonline.com.
